A 20-year-old Democratic Socialist running for Greenville City Council has sued the Anderson County Sheriff's Office and an unidentified individual, alleging he was choked, grabbed by the collar and struck in the back of the head while being removed from President Donald Trump's rally in upstate South Carolina. Layden Duncan says the lawsuit is meant to hold someone accountable and deter similar incidents against protesters at future political events.
Duncan's claims, filed as a lawsuit, have not been independently established in court, and the Anderson County Sheriff's Office has declined to comment, citing its policy against discussing pending litigation, according to NBC Palm Springs. Per the lawsuit, Duncan alleges he was assaulted during the removal, and he claims an unidentified man struck him from behind as he was escorted out of the event.
Candidate Says He Went to Exercise Free Speech
Duncan attended the rally in Pendleton with a friend specifically to exercise his right to free speech, he told The New Republic. He has said he believes peaceful protest and freedom of expression should be protected, and he has expressed concern about potential consequences for people who speak out at political events.
The Anderson County Sheriff's Office reported just one arrest tied to the October 21 rally — a woman charged with trespassing after notice — per The Post and Courier. That same reporting describes a separate protester, Matthew McDaniel, who said he went to the hospital for neck injuries after one man put him in a chokehold while another punched him. The sheriff's office said it is investigating McDaniel's complaint, which lists him as the victim of an unknown suspect who allegedly placed him in a headlock and punched him in the head, neck and chest.
Dozens Removed Across Recent Rallies
The Pendleton rally was not an isolated flashpoint. The New Republic's reporting counted at least 12 people removed from that October 21 event, including McDaniel, while five more were removed from an October 20 rally in Greenville, North Carolina, and 11 people were escorted out of an October 19 rally in Park City, Kansas. The same Post and Courier report noted that protesters were also attacked or allegedly struck at earlier October rallies in Youngstown, Ohio, and San Antonio, Texas.
In Youngstown, a Stark County couple filed a $30 million federal lawsuit after they said they were injured while being ejected from Trump's October 12 rally at the Covelli Centre, according to WFMJ. That lawsuit named Senator Jon Husted, the City of Youngstown, security firm Ironwood LLC, Mahoning County Sheriff Jerry Greene and four unnamed sheriff's deputies as defendants, alleging violations of constitutional protections against unreasonable search and seizure along with free-speech rights, assault and battery. It sought $5 million in compensatory damages and $25 million in punitive damages plus legal costs. As of the report, none of the Youngstown defendants had answered the complaint and no hearings were scheduled.
What the Law Says
Federal civil-rights law under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, maintained by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives, allows a person acting under color of state law who deprives someone of constitutional rights to be held liable in a civil action for redress. Separately, South Carolina's Tort Claims Act, as published by the South Carolina Legislature, defines a claim as a written demand for money against the state or a political subdivision based on a loss caused by an employee's tort committed within the scope of official duty.
